Handfast with Me
by PalmettoBlue
Summary: Written for the Bewitching Fiction Beltane Challenge 2015. Draco wants Hermione to handfast with him on Beltane, and he's willing to do what it takes to get her to say yes...(OOC I suppose.)


**A/N:** This little one-shot was written for the Bewitching Fiction Beltane Challenge 2015. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing this little story. There's currently a summer challenge on-going so check that out if you are interested!

 **Beta thanks:** Brightki! Such a fun writer. If you like Tomione, she's one of the best out there. My personal favorite is Boondocks, set in a non-magical, Southern, United States AU. And she did such a great job with this. :)

 **Disclaimer:** HP and the HP Universe is the property of JKR and her assigns. I make no money from the writing or publishing of this story.

If you like it, drop me a review, and thanks for reading!

* * *

 **Handfast with Me**

 _Just before dawn_

 _1 May 2000_

 _Draco's Penthouse, London_

Draco kissed his way up his witch's torso, sucking her sensitive nipples into his mouth, eliciting moans of desire. Soon, the moans turned to cries of delight as he pressed inside her, and just as they were reaching their mutual climax, he gasped out:

"Handfast with me."

"Yes, oh, Draco, right there, _yes_." Hermione almost screamed as she came, and her world spun on its axis. Draco smiled against her neck as he felt the bonds begin to tie them together. Whether she knew it or not, on Beltane Day, Hermione had agreed to bond with him for a year and a day. With a final thrust, he exploded, sending his come deep inside her.

Basking in the post-coital glow, Hermione remembered that Draco had asked her a question. Slowly regaining her senses, she turned to him, "Draco, what was it that you asked me earlier?"

"You don't remember?"

"Uh, no. I was sort of distracted. You know that!"

Draco smirked. "I asked you to handfast with me." He rolled on his side and nibbled her ear. "You said yes."

"Umngh. Stop that!" Hermione couldn't concentrate when he got near her ears. "I thought you just said that you asked me to handfast with you."

"Umhum. I did." Draco continued to tease her ears and neck with his wicked mouth. "And you said yes."

Hermione jerked out of his grasp. "No, I didn't! I was saying yes to the way you were moving! Yes to an orgasm. Not yes to a handfasting!"

Draco affected a hurt pose; "So, you don't want to handfast with me?"

"Of course I – " She stopped. "That's a big commitment. I need to research it and think about it."

"You think too much, Hermione. It just means that we'll live together, and officially be dating. For the next year."

"But I wasn't saying yes to handfasting."

Draco pulled up her left hand that had been laying on the sheets and compared it to his. "I think the magic believes otherwise."

There, for all the world to see, were matching Celtic bands on their ring fingers.

Hermione reached down to see if she could tug it off, but it didn't budge.

"Granger, don't you know? It's won't come off, not until next Beltane."

"But…."

"No buts, Hermione." Draco placed a swift kiss on her hand. "Now, let's go have some breakfast. We can talk about you moving in with me." Hermione sat on the bed, gaping at her beringed hand as Draco headed into his ensuite bathroom.

When Draco emerged fifteen minutes later, it was to see Hermione still frozen in shock. He gathered her clothes, tossed aside so hurriedly last night, and sat beside her. "Come on, beautiful. Let's go watch the sunrise from the rooftop deck. Mipsy will have your favorite scone waiting for you – chocolate chip…."

"Are you bribing me with pastries, Draco? Seriously?"

"It depends. Is it working?" Draco smiled widely. He knew she would come around.

A reluctant smile tilted the corners of her lips. "All right. I'll have breakfast with you."

After eating not one, but two of Mipsy's delicious scones, Hermione started her research with her newly handfasted beau. "Draco, what _exactly_ is involved in handfasting?"

Draco dusted the crumbs off his hands. "I wondered when you'd be getting to that." He reached out and brushed a stray crumb from the corner of Hermione's lips. "It's an ancient tradition, binding a couple together for a year and a day. After the year, the couple can go their own way without consequences or stay together."

"Is there any way to break it?"

He narrowed his silver eyes at her. "Why? Do you want out?"

Hermione huffed out a breath. "Not necessarily, but that's information I need, don't you think?"

"No. Not for a year and a day. It will break on its own if we choose to be apart." But Draco had no intention of allowing that to happen.

"No matter what?"

"Hermione, we can choose to be together. Or choose to break up." _Unless we have a child, or you are pregnant_ , he added silently.

"It's legal?"

"Yes." He glanced down at their matching rings. "And I'd say by the presence of these rings, it's already been recorded in the Book of Marriages, in the Handfasting section."

Hermione paled at the news. "My _work_ already knows?"

Just then, a large owl obviously from the Ministry, dropped a card onto the table and flew away. Draco reached out, checked the addressee, and lips tilted in his infamous smirk, handed it to Hermione. The clay color of the envelope indicated it was from the Minister for Magic himself and was addressed to Mr. Draco Malfoy and Ms. Hermione Granger-Malfoy. Hermione's jaw unhinged at the sight of her name hyphenated. With a show of reluctance, she took it from him, opened it, and read aloud.

 _Dear Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger-Malfoy,_

 _Congratulations on your Beltane Handfasting! We at the Ministry are delighted at this show of unity after the late unpleasantness. As a handfasting gift, please accept a week of paid vacation to you both from your jobs here at the Ministry. Please enjoy the time away!_

 _Best,_

 _Kingsley Shacklebolt_

 _Minister for Magic, Great Britain_

Hermione dropped the card. "Oh, Godric. Harry and Ron probably already know."

"Relax, what is Potter going to do? Ride to your rescue on a white charger, like some knight of old?" Draco snorted at the idea of the bespectacled Potter on a huge horse, sporting armour and a lance.

"No, smart arse, he won't. But he will be 'very concerned' and send an owl, at the very least. Ron may send a Howler." She shuddered at the thought.

Draco smirked. "I'm looking forward to Lucius's reaction. I'm sure I'll hear of his displeasure all the way from Azkaban."

Hermione paled at a sudden thought. "Oh, Godric. My parents. They don't even know we've been dating." She blanched even further. "And your _mother_. She may kill me."

Draco took a final sip of his tea. "Nonsense. She'll be thrilled I'm finally settling down."

"Even with me?"

"Especially with you, Granger. She likes you. Says you have a spine."

"But I'm Muggle-born. She – "

"Doesn't give a shit about that. Since the war, she has spent time with Andromeda again and gotten to know her new grandnephew. She wants grandbabies. And from her perspective, the sooner the better."

"But - ."

"But nothing. Now, where do you want to go for the next week? Paris? Dover? Alexandria? Crete?" Draco named several Malfoy residences that could be ready within hours.

"Alexandria? Can we go the library there?"

"Leave it to you to visit a library on your honeymoon, Granger."

"It's not a honeymoon; this is temporary."

"Whatever you say, Granger."

* * *

 _1 May 2001_

 _Draco's Rooftop Deck_

As she waited for the sun to top the horizon, Hermione affectionately rubbed her baby bump; he or she was going to be a football star if given half the chance. Just then, Draco's arms surrounded her, and his pale hands cupped her belly.

"How's my son this morning?"

" _She_ is doing fine, Draco." It was a running joke between the two of them – boy or girl? Hermione wasn't even sure; she had dreams featuring both almost every night.

A spot on the horizon grew more distinct; it was a ministry owl, delivering another card from the Minister for Magic. Draco reached up from his greater height and caught it as the owl turned and flew away. A wide grin split his face when he saw to whom it was addressed. Without a word, he handed it to his wife.

 _Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy_

" _What_?" Hermione screeched. She ripped open the card, loaded for bear.

 _Dear Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy,_

 _Congratulations on your marriage recorded today in permanent ink at the Ministry. Please enjoy a week of paid vacation as a wedding gift and to prepare for the upcoming birth of your twins._

 _Best,_

 _Kingsley Shacklebolt_

 _Minister for Magic, Great Britain_

Hermione moved out of the shelter of her husband's arms and collapsed on the nearest chaise lounge. _Twins? Married? Twins?_ Putting her head between her legs, she concentrated on breathing.

Draco sat down beside her, rubbing her back, "Breathe, Hermione, breathe. In, out, in, out."

As the blood returned to her head, she sat up abruptly. "You knew, didn't you?"

"What do you mean, love?"

"You knew it all, from the start. If I said yes to the handfasting question, it would take, no matter the distractions."

His lips quirked in a small smile.

"And you knew if I got pregnant, we would automatically be married, didn't you?"

He cupped her head in his hands and brought her mouth close to his in an almost-kiss, staring directly into her whiskey brown eyes only centimeters away.

"Granger, I'm Slytherin in the soul; you should know by now I will use all means at my disposal to get what I want." He brushed a kiss on her lips. "And I want you. As the mother of my children, as my wife. And in my bed." His next kiss was utter bliss.

Hermione smiled through the kiss. _Mission accomplished. Silly snake, didn't he know not to toy with a lion?_

"It's Malfoy now, Draco."

~ Fin ~


End file.
